The Heat Is On

It is hot here! It seems like overnight it turned into the hot, hot summertime, rather than the occasional extra warm day. We've had something like 15 or 16 consecutive days over 90 degrees - yesterday we hit a record 97 degrees. It's crazy. Everyday Natalie says, "It's another hot, sunny day, Mommy," and I say, "Welcome to Houston!" Anyway, we've been trying to stay cool but still do fun stuff outside. Over the weekend we enjoyed our first Saturday with no ballet class for a while. Owen had a haircut (there was a lot to cut!) and we started yet another outdoor project - replacing some bushes in our front area. We also invested in a new pool for the kids - our old one is still packed away somewhere in the garage. So I got a new pirate ship one. It even has a slide and a cannon that shoots water! Natalie and Owen had a blast! Of course the water didn't stay cold for long, but they didn't care. On Sunday Ike took Natalie to see the Houston Ballet again. We enjoyed the last one so much we bought a ticket "subscription" - two tickets for six upcoming shows. They had a good time together and the boys & I stayed home and played. We also had to get everybody's stuff for school for swimming and water play (even Henry gets to have water play twice a week outside). I got Henry what I thought was an adorable hat, although Ike thinks it's a bit goofy. An update an Henry's crawling efforts - over the weekend he started rocking back & forth on his hands & knees, he just needs to figure out how to go forward. He is already into everything! I look away for a second, and he's into things on the shelves! My office is not safe anymore! Also, a funny Owen story - the music of Sam Cooke has apparently made an impression on him - he names all his school project animals Sam Cooke now - he has both a jellyfish and a sea horse named Sam Cooke at school. We got a kick out of that.